Ravi Shankar Centre trashes Rishab Sharma's claims, says he was not the sitar maestro's disciple

Ravi Shankar Centre trashed Rishab Rikhiram Sharma's claims of being Pandit Ravi Shankar's youngest and last disciple. They also debunked the timeline.

After Anoushka Shankar clarified earlier this month that her father, Pandit Ravi Shankar, was never Rishab Rikhiram Sharma’s guru, the Ravi Shankar Centre has also issued a clarification. Trashing Rishab’s claim to be the sitar maestro’s disciple, let alone the youngest and last one, the Centre provided a timeline and debunked pictures previously shared by the sitarist. They released a statement to ‘correct inaccurate timelines, wrong perceptions around the nature and amount of instruction given by Guruji, and confusion around the term disciple.’

Timeline of when Pandit Ravi Shankar met Rishab Rikhiram Sharma

Anoushka Sharma had also previously clarified that Rishab Rikhiram Sharma was not her father, Pandit Ravi Shankar's disciple.

Providing context on the timeline of when Ravi Shankar met Rishab and his health, the Centre wrote, “On 3 January 2012, at the persuasion of Rishab's father, and due to affection for the young child, an informal string-tying took place at the Centre between Guruji and Rishab. Such ceremony was neither conducted as a formal Ganda-Bandhan Ceremony nor was it conducted according to traditional custom.”

They also added that the ‘informal ceremony’ had no priest present, nor was a ceremonial thread prepared or a formal announcement made. No students, extended family or friends were also invited. “For the record, other than Guruji and his wife, from the Centre only Guruji's one senior disciple, namely, Parimal Sadaphal was present. Guruji did not conduct a formal initiation discourse, and he did not conduct several hours of teaching that day. The mentioned ceremony was entirely impromptu. The event has been retrospectively amplified beyond what occurred,” wrote the Centre.

Between 3 January 2012 and 9 March 2012, Ravi Shankar and Parimal Sadaphal gave a ‘few classes’ to Rishab but no ‘several-hour sessions’. Additional training was given by Arun Bharat Ram. “On 9 March 2012, Guruji returned to the United States, and after that date gave no further lessons, phone calls, or supervision to Rishab. On 12 December 2012 Guruji passed away. Any claim of prolonged, ongoing, or remotely supervised instruction by Guruji to Rishab beyond 9 March 2012 is therefore incorrect,” reads the note.

Ravi Shankar also did not see any YouTube recording of Rishab prior to the ceremony, nor did he decide to personally nurture Rishab based on that, says the Centre.

Not Pandit Ravi Shankar’s disciple

The Centre also stated that in the parampara of Indian Classical Music, the word disciple ‘carries deep meaning’. Explaining further, they wrote, “It is not symbolic, and it is not established through an informal moment. It is a relationship that evolves over many years of guidance and shared commitment. A few lessons and a brief appearance in a concert/video cannot be considered equivalent to that level of formal, rigorous and immersive training and commitment.” They also wrote that while Rishab is welcome to state that he has had a few lessons with Ravi Shankar, he should give ‘credit and respect’ to his main guru.

Busting dates on photographs

The Centre also called out misdated photographs, stating, “A photograph under circulation claiming it was taken with Pandit Ravi Shankar and Sanjay Sharma with family at Ravi Shankar Centre on 30 November 2012 cannot be accurate, as on 30 November 2012 Guruji was in San Diego, not in Delhi. He was critically ill and preparing for hospitalisation at the time, before passing away on 12 December 2012.”

They also slammed photographs under circulation, which are being ‘misunderstood to be proof’ of him being a disciple, stating that Ravi Shankar had a ‘long-standing relationship with Rishab’s family for many generations’. It was also noted that they were his instrument-makers and were a part of the ‘wider musical community’.

The Centre also busted claims of Rishab being Ravi Shankar’s ‘youngest’ and ‘last’ disciple, writing, “The "youngest disciples" of Guruji were (a) Shubhendra Rao, who began learning from Guruji at the age of four and later lived and trained under Guruji for approximately ten years; and (b) Anoushka Shankar, who began learning from Guruji at the age of seven. The "last disciples" of Guruji were (a) Nishad Gadgil; and (b) Dr. Scott Eisman.”